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Hospital
Patient ID
Gender
Age
Diagnosis
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Scripps Green
GK
Female
40s
Multiple sclerosis,
lymphatic radiation,
stem cell transplant
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The
charge nurse referred this patient,
saying that she was listening
to her son’s Childrens’
Choir CD. As I arrived to the
patient’s room, the nurse
told me that GK’s response
to music therapy had been “great”.
Entering the room, I found that
the patient looked very frail
and weak and was thankful that
social worker had described the
general characteristics of patients
on this floor. After GK accepted
music therapy services, I made
it a point to ask her to let me
know when she was getting tired
so we could end the session.
GK and I spent several minutes
establishing rapport. During this
time she told me that her undergraduate
degree is in vocal performance
and then received her equivalency
as an RMT. She was surprised that
music therapy was now in the medical
setting. She specialized with
the DD population in residential
facilities and group homes. GK
stated “it is strange to
be the one receiving therapy”.
We talked about self-medicating
with music and what a powerful
tool music is in its ability to
distract and bring relief.
GK discussed her children. It
was apparent that she is especially
proud of her 12-year-old son who
sings in a children’s choir.
The choir went to a competition
in Wales where they placed 4th
out of over 100 choirs.
GK mainly enjoys classical and
religious music. During the session
she chose to sing Amazing Grace,
Swing Low, Stand By
Me, and The Rose. She
commented that she used to sing
in church but found breathing
to be difficult. She said it was
nice to be able to sing. GK sang
in a weak voice but you could
tell she was well trained and
sang harmony.
After this I sensed that GK was
tired and she confirmed this.
She asked if I could come back
again and play my flute for her.
I assured her that I (or another
therapist) would follow-up.
Following the session, I had a
chance to talk to the charge nurse.
She was pleased that the patient
enjoyed services and that we would
attempt to follow-up but was worried
about how music therapy services
were billed, indicating that the
patient is paying for her expenses
out of pocket. After assuring
her that it was free to the patients
she was helpful in showing me
where her chart was.
Personal Reaction and Insight
Gained
It seems that every patient highlight
I write about, I am once again
amazed at the diversity of the
patients and the experiences we
have as a result. I have been
trying to be prepared for any
situation because “you never
know what you’ll find”.
I’m finding that no matter
how much experience and confidence
I gain, I don’t think it’s
about being prepared or ready.
My boyfriend listened to a Larry
King Live show with Tony Robbins
and Deepak Chopra. One of the
things my boyfriend shared with
me about the program was a quote
by Robbins. It goes something
to the effect of “the quality
of your life is in direct proportion
to the amount of uncertainty you
can comfortably live with”.
For me there is something to learn
from this statement. There is
a lot of uncertainty in the hospital
setting. Even though I may walk
into a room knowing nothing about
a patient, if I change my perception
to see each encounter as an adventure
I’ll become more comfortable
with uncertainty.
During the session, I asked GK
about the instruments she played
and whether she played guitar
or piano. She had indicated playing
both a little but neither being
her forte. She talked about coming
to the realization that music
therapy wasn’t really for
her as she found it more difficult
to find “activities”
that she could do. At this point
I saw a cloud come over her eyes
but she began talking about something
else. I was surprised at this
comment but did not ask her to
clarify.
As I was charting it dawned on
me as to why I hadn’t understood
her even after she told me that
her left shoulder was frozen.
Before walking into her room,
I forgot to look at her diagnosis
one more time. If I’d remembered
that she had a diagnosis of MS,
I would have expected her to have
mobility and movement difficulties,
which could impair her ability
to play instruments. It was a
Homer Simpson “doh”
moment.
By not realizing the implications
of her diagnosis, I probably seemed
insensitive or oblivious to the
subject I had brought up and had
put her into a situation where
she had to answer some uncomfortable
questions. If this had been me,
I would’ve been uncomfortable
sharing this type of information
with someone I’d just met.
This pt. reminded me that I have
much to be thankful for.
Next time I will . . .
Review and try to commit to short-term
memory the census information
before I enter a patient’s
room because it could be essential
to providing a quality intervention!
View
the other five
Patient Highlights
B
C
D
E
F
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